Jonglei marks S. Sudan 5th independence anniversary
July 9, 2016 (BOR) – Numerous calls for peace and unity marked the commemoration of the fifth independence anniversary in South Sudan’s Jonglei state on Saturday.
“People were wondering how Independence Day should be celebrated since there was no money. But I said nothing needs money because our people are committed. They come on foot, stay without water and return homes in the evening. They don’t demand any money”, Jonglei state governor, Philip Aguer said Saturday.
“As we celebrate this day, there should be no division within ourselves. We were all comrades ten years ago, but today we are becoming enemies of one another. This means that Satan had entered into our lives”, he added.
The governor advised citizens to desist from tribalism, which he said could ignite a conflict similar to the one that occurred in December 2013.
“To children, women and all people, you may be naked, your school days might have been interrupted by insecurity, you may sleep without food, but let us hope that the government will improve all these,” he said.
Aguer also highlighted the current situation, saying oil, the economic lifeline of the young nation, was badly hit by decline in global prices.
“Let us build perseverance to this situation as we hope for the better”, he stressed.
Mamer Ruuk, one of the commissioners in Jonglei, said the problem of Juba should not be imitated in the state capital of Bor.
“Sickness of Juba must remain in Juba. We must not jump in. We have our brothers from Nuer who are here in Bor for peace mission, and those who are residence here, let us embrace peace among ourselves”, said Ruuk.
Dok Chuer, a woman activist, advised the South Sudanese president and state governors to avoid a repeat of the December violence.
“If you are at home with your wife, who one day had an affair with another man, don’t let her know all your secretes. While sleeping with her, one of your eyes must be opened through the night”, she said.
Akeer Duany, the vice chancellor of Dr. John Garang Memorial University called for truth and openness among citizens in the nation.
“I am Nuer, and Dinka twice. If you cut me and put my blood side by side with blood of one who is purely from Dinka. There will be no difference. We are all South Sudanese, with the same blood”, he said.
Ajith Manyang, a retired general, urged the state government to make necessary arrangements to ensure the displaced return home.
Hundreds of people from Jonglei live in the internally displaced camps in South Sudan and refugee sites in neighboring countries.
“From here, I now give Relief and Rehabilitation commission to this out with humanitarian agencies. A transit camp should be established in Bor for all the people to come and get settled before heading to their places of origin,” Manyang told Sudan Tribune.
(ST)